Terrifying childhood tv shows

[Oniomancer]

Oniomancer, I've never seen the older Outer Limits. I imagine it's much better than the 80s/90s one.

Yeah, the old one was more dramatic classic scifi while the news one tends more toward disturbing "twist"

endings like you described. It has it's moments though. They show them both now and again on Syfy channel.

Although I do have season 1 & 3 of the old, black-and-white Twilight Zone, and it's really good. Do you remember the episode where the boy is a monster and controls the town, It's A Good Life or something like that?

I never saw that one until recently. I knew the story from the twilight zone movie though. They actually did a followup to the original episode with some of the original cast on the third TZ series a few years ago, The one hosted by Forest Witaker.

Edited August 12, 2010 by Oniomancer

[Oniomancer]

Dang, I can never remember this stuff on cue when I want to.

I Remember being scared by a couple episodes of the New Scooby Doo Movies with the celebrities, the ones with Phylis Diller and the skeleton men (but not Phylis herself, scary as she is) and the scarecrow that was after Jonathan winters. I had to keep my arms and legs tucked under the sheets at night so the skeletons wouldn't grab me.

I've always had a thing about bigfoot too. As if all the movies back then weren't bad enough, there was this 70's snowmobile commercial with these guys cruising along and getting chased by bigfoot or something that scared the hell out me.

For intentionally scary stuff, I'm surprised no-one's mentioned Rod Serling's Night Gallery yet.

I only remember seeing one episode of that besides the movie and it gave me nightmares for awhile. This fisherman catches a mermaid and she turns into this giant fish monster. I see it's on youtube. I may have to watch it again.

I'm sure there's other stuff I'm forgetting...or blanked out of my memory in a vain attempt to preserve my sanity.

[NosmoKing]

Yeah, the old one was more dramatic classic scifi while the news one tends more toward disturbing "twist"

endings like you described. It has it's moments though. They show them both now and again on Syfy channel.

I never saw that one until recently. I knew the story from the twilight zone movie though. They actually did a followup to the original episode with some of the original cast on the third TZ series a few years ago, The one hosted by Forest Witaker.

I never saw the old Twilight Zone until I was an adult, so I had fun with the scares. But I was 6/7/8 around the time of the 80s Twilight Zone, and no way could I watch that one. Even the tv ads scared me.

Also, I remember an episode of Knight Rider which was set in Chinatown (or some place like that). At the start of the episode there was a boombox that was set on a timer to melt (???) and let off some gas that killed people or knocked them out or something. Scared me something bad, but I was watching with my older cousins so I had to act like I didn't care (didn't want to be teased for being a baby). I got worried normal everyday objects around me were going to melt. Ah, childhood...

[cameojoe]

Just watched that candle cove video. What the Hell was that? Creepy creepy creepy

[mfrmboy]

When I was a kid there was this show that used to come on called SHOCK THEATRE and they showed the old black and white classic horror movies. Like Frankenstein, Dracula and Wolfman. There was one that really freaked me out it was THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON. Mainly because there is a boat dock in the movie and my grandparents boat dock looked just like it. I was always scared to let my feet dangle over the edge.

Then there was this movie The Trilogy of Horror. In the movie there is this evil tiki doll that comes to life and reeks havock. We had a statue of an African warrior man. It's about a foot tall, all black. He holds a spear and a shield and used to freak me out really bad. I just knew he was gonna come to life and kill my mom. I would take it down and and hide him in the cabinet.

The Statue was passed down to me and sits beside the aquarium in my living room. I keep an eye on him cause every once and awhile I still get that same spooked feeling.

Then there came Friday the thirteenth and the summer camp I went to was in mountains, deep in the woods, on a lake and the cabins, dock where just like those in the movie. I spent many nights jumping awake at a sound outside the cabin or getting freaked out while swimming in the lake or canoeing. I knew at any moment Jason was gonna come up out of the water. But I always over came my fear and had a great time.

One year while there it fell on friday 13th and one of the guys dressed up like Jason and scared the hell out of us.

[Ditz]

When I was a kid a programme called Round the Bend scared me silly. I stopped sleeping because of it lol. It featured a puppet called Dr.Croc and I used to imagine I could see his tail walking around the bottom of my bed waiting for me to fall asleep.

Nowadays I watch the Misadventures of Flapjack with my daughter and some of the stuff on there is freaky. I remember one episode that was beyond the norm for a kids show.

[~TheBigK~]

I both loved and feared that show...the music would give me the chills every time. I do however like that they had Kolchak on the X-files... as his show had been partially the inspiration for the X-files...

I remember watching that show with my mom when I was a kid and really liking it. Don't recall being scared.

X-Files did on the other hand. There was one episode called Badlaa where Deep Roy played a little guy with no legs (or legs that didn't work) who would scoot after people on a cart and go inside of them, controlling them. I saw it when I was young and for weeks, whenever I heard a squeaky wheel noise I would get scared lol.

[laffing1]

The winged monkeys in "The Wizard of Oz" creeped me right the hell out!!

[NosmoKing]

Sooty and Sweep scared me as a kid. Don't ask me why, I can't remember. Genetic memories, perhaps

Sooty:

[saoc]

Do you remember the episode where the boy is a monster and controls the town, It's A Good Life or something like that?

I hate that episode with a passion. It disturbs me so much.

[sweetn_low]

Polk a dot door was hella scary LOL,

Seriously though, the Twilight Zone was the scariest TV show I watched as a kid. The one episode with the talking killer doll scared me for a long time. I don't think any shows for children scared me. I guess I was a little creeped out with the show Today's Special where Jeff the manikin came to life every night. Does anyone remember that one? I also watched the Critters movie and Pet Cemetery when I was eight. To this day, I don't like reaching over for a lamp or in the dark or hanging my feet over a bed.

[NosmoKing]

Polk a dot door was hella scary LOL,

I also watched the Critters movie and Pet Cemetery when I was eight. To this day, I don't like reaching over for a lamp or in the dark or hanging my feet over a bed.

I remember Critters. Those things were freaky. Also, do you remember the part where the alien bounty hunter (critter-killer) comes to earth and morphs into a human looking face so he won't freak out the human population? His alien face melts off, and a human face is 'morphed' from the bottom up, bone to muscle to flesh. Yuck. Couldn't watch that. Reminded me too much of the face melting scene in The Poltergeist.

[svenshoegazer]

Well when I was a little kid about 5 there was this movie on that I was watching. It started out with this guy speeding down a dark deserted road at night. All a sudden there is a car in front of him and it won't let him past..and when he finally starts to past beside of the vehicle, and he looks over and...the driver of the other vehicle is dead an then swirves into him crashing his vehicle into a tree. That really spooked me out. Then I really got freaked out by The Shining movie trailer back then. Also I got spooked out by Children of the Corn and very much by Salem's Lot and Pet Sematary. Man I love reading Stephen novels and short stories now but back then it made for my nightmares

[Queen in the North]

I know it's not exactly a TV show, but I was TERRIFIED of Disney films when I was little!

[~TheBigK~]

Also I got spooked out by Children of the Corn and very much by Salem's Lot and Pet Sematary. Man I love reading Stephen novels and short stories now but back then it made for my nightmares

Same here. I vividly remember watching Salem's Lot while a storm was going on and during it all the power went off. I thought it was the end of the world lol. I was also scared to death of It. Still am really.

[NosmoKing]

I know it's not exactly a TV show, but I was TERRIFIED of Disney films when I was little!

Which ones specifically, and what parts? I think that's an interesting thing to be frightened of as a kid.

There used to be a Disney hour that played on Sunday evening as a kid (I'm from Australia) - random Disney cartoons and documentaries, that sort of thing. You never knew what you would get to watch that week. Some of the episodes used to scare me, as I was really young and it was starting to get dark.

Also, this isn't a tv show, but a book. When I was a kid I found the Readers Digest Mysteries of the Unexplained in the hall closet. I loved it, but would start to get freaked out when reading it at night. So I made a rule that I had to hide the book after 5pm. Even if I really wanted to read it, come nightfall I would hide the thing.

[fatbadger2]

Eirrie indiana used to freak me out. It was less scary more downright trippy when I think back but it definately messed with my head when I was a kid.

[GenerationNine]

Are You Afraid of the Dark?

I remember an episode where there was a huge spectral clown that had blue foam pouring out of its mouth and attacked a character's teacher. I hid behind the couch o.O

[...:::*ArorA*:::...]

Oh my gosh! My mum took me to the theatre to watch nightmare on Elm Street in 3D when I was 4 years old.

I mean, which mother would take their 4-year-old child to watch psycho killer slaughter young kids in their sleep? My mother.

I think this movie scared me for most of my childhood as I use to dream about Freddie killing me in my sleep.

But then again, I think this movie got me interested in hauntings and scary movies.

The nightmare on Elm Street is my most favourite movie series, however looking back and watching it today, its so bad lol.

Edited August 31, 2010 by ...:::*ArorA*:::...

[...:::*ArorA*:::...]

All the Aussies here will know The Extraordinary.

This show gave me the creeps as a child! Spewing it's not on TV anymore.

The series was based on true paranormal/ supernatural stories.

The show was hosted by Warwick Moss, his voice creeped me out!

Edited August 31, 2010 by ...:::*ArorA*:::...

[GenerationNine]

I didnt really get scared of things as a child when it came to watching tv shows but...I was looking at creepy stuff on youtube the other day and I came across this video. Now, i'm sure if I would have watched this when I was a kid it would have messed me up. its not like 'ghost scary' but its kinda twisted.

What the eff is this?? Why does this exist??! This should not exist!!

[JasonExplosion]

The Unsolved Mysteries theme song used to FREAK me out, and still does. Also, the only Unsolved Mysteries case that I remember was of an arsonist filming his own work and making comments throughout the video. My older brother and I used to share a room with bunk beds when we were little, and he used to whisper from the bottom bunk "Look at it buuuurn!" just to scare the crap out of me. Which, it did.

Here is a video: Unsolved Mysteries Arsonist

I also remember I used to LOVE Thomas the Tank Engine. I had all the toys, watched the show every day. One day as a surprise, my mother and grandmother took me to see a life sized Thomas, that you could sit in and everything. When we got there, I looked at this gigantic, loud Thomas, and its eyes were rolling around like it was posessed. I was absolutely HORRIFIED, and spent the rest of the day crying thinking Thomas was coming to get me.

My little cousin watches a show called "In The Night Garden". For anyone who has not seen this show, it is terrifying.

Here's a clip:

[Luca-RoseElsie-Raemom1921]

All the Aussies here will know The Extraordinary.

This show gave me the creeps as a child! Spewing it's not on TV anymore.

The series was based on true paranormal/ supernatural stories.

The show was hosted by Warwick Moss, his voice creeped me out!

I remeber that show it was creepy

[NosmoKing]

My little cousin watches a show called "In The Night Garden". For anyone who has not seen this show, it is terrifying.

Here's a clip:

Crap, how can little kids watch that stuff. No wonder they grow up to shoot up schools. And become politicians.

I think what was the worst was, all the characters on that show were moving so slow. I can just imagine all of them crawling up on my bed at night, and staring at me. Ugh.

[fatbadger2]

With all you ozzys on here do any of you remember round the twist? It was an amazingly good kids show from the late 80s or early 90s I think. The stories weren't that scary but they always had an air of believability that made them a bit unnerving....especially the seagul poop episode...eurgh!